Jordan Williams faces assault charges

The 6-10 freshman center, who will probably start from day one if eligible, was involved in some incident at his hometown mall. Details are murky at this stage. We do know he's facing third-degree assault charges -- a misdermeanor. I doubt he'll get jail time; but he could get reprimanded by UM.

With Midnight Madness about two weeks away, Williams' eligibilty is in question. Here's the story in the Sun.

Da'Rel's fumblitis

It's one of those puzzling things. Da'Rel Scott has fumbled three times in two games, prompting the Fridge to keep the 1st-team All-ACC back on the sidelines for about half of the Rutgers game. Here's a Post blog entry about it.

The Fridge's uncertain future

OC James Franklin was expected to replace the Fridge in 2011. But the way things are going, Franklin may take over next season, maybe sooner.





The Post wrote a story about the Fridge's increasingly tenuous grip on a coaching position he's held since 2000.

This is probably the low-point of his coaching career. But one thing on his side is his contract. He's owed about $4.5 million for the next two years. And considering the well-documented financial decline the athletic department is currently enduring, it's hard to imagine Yow buying the Fridge out.

Yow said she won't "evaluate the status of the program" until after the season.

Here's the good news...

...we're only 37 days away from college basketball season.

I'd rather not revisit Saturday's game. You can get a concise rundown of just how bad we were from the Sun blog; but I'm guessing nobody cares at this point. Being a DC area sports fan, I'm used to enduring futility. But I'm very close to giving up on this team. And what is there to look forward to next season? Jamarr Robinson under center?

It upsets me how turnover/mistake prone this team is. Friedgen's MO in the past has been to minimize mistakes and maximize his talent. But I think it's safe to say this team is neither talented nor well-coached. Although the one silver lining continues to be Torrey Smith. He is far more productive than Heyward-Bey was last year. Ok, I'm ending my hating spree now.

Washington Post's Terps-Rutgers preview

Gary Williams on "Washington Post Live"

Rutgers QB may not start

Freshman Tom Savage has played well since taking over the starting job in week 2. He's led the Scarlet Knights to two victories and has yet to throw an INT.

But the 6-5 quarterback suffered a concussion last week against Florida International and is considered questionable for Saturday. Here's the story.

Cannon has "disappeared"

...according to James Franklin. Cannon, who was the breakout player in preseason camps, has only 85 yards of receiving through three games. Read more about it here.

Fridge ranks third on "coaches on the hot list"

Al Groh of UVA is No. 1. Here's the website.

Fridge gives Scott bill of confidence

At times Saturday, Da'Rel Scott looked like an All-ACC back. But he was carrying the ball like hot pie fresh out the oven. His two fumbles probably cost us the game. Nevertheless, it seems that he has retained his starting spot, based on this recent Post story.

No surprise here...

Ticket sales are down. The upper decks were almost empty Saturday.

Jewish Jordan retires

Tamir Goodman, aka "The Jewish Jordan", has retired from basketball at the age of 27. For those who don't remember, Tamir received nationwide publicity after receiving an oral commitment from Maryland. An orthodox Jew, Goodman insisted he wouldn't play on Saturdays. Ultimately though, Gary Williams renegged on the commitment after Goodman didn't live up to the hype in his senior year.

Here's the AP story.

Adding injury to insult

No Maryland team in the Friedgen era can ill-afford injuries more than this young 2009 squad. And yet, entering week three, the Terps will be without three starters (DB Nolan Carroll, safety Jamari McCullough and LT Bruce Campbell). Carroll, a team captain, is out for the season with a broken leg.

Here's the story in the Post about the Terps' injury woes.

and more from Prisbell in his blog.

New players emerge

Look out for three new faces that figure to see a lot of playing time this week:

1) Soph. offensive tackle Tyler Bowen is finally healthy and should see time at tackle. 

2) Freshman tight end Devonte Campbell has apparently come on lately, impressing with his good hands and speed in the open field. 

3) True Freshman Eric Franklin was one of the least heralded in the class of 2009. But he could start today at FS in place of injured Jamari McCullough. 

Prisbell's video preview of the JMU game

An inauspicious sign...

...about the state of the Terp nation. Fan response to the massive Byrd Stadium expansion project, which produced "64 luxury suites and 440 mezzanine seats", has been luke-warm at best, according to a Post story. Only two-thirds of the new seating have been filled long-term.  

Post story breaks down Terp blunders

Eric Prisbell's story talks about the failures of the offensive line and, surprisingly, the mental miscues of some veteran members of the defense, who forgot to blitz on certain plays, leaving D-backs in man-t0-man coverage for too long.

Out of town, out of hope?

Sorry for the recent inactivity; but I was out of town for a wedding. And frankly, I had little motivation to post injury reports or whatever after Saturday's Bear-mauling.

I am an eternal optimist, something my friends always point out when I give them reasons why this year's Maryland team could surprise people. And somehow, I have maintained my optimistic outlook after Week 1.

I still think this team has as good a chance as anyone in the Atlantic division to earn a trip to Jacksonville. After a 4-5 Week 1 for the ACC. with three wins coming against non-Div. 1 opponents, I feel just as confident about Maryland's ACC Title hopes as I did last Friday. The only teams from the Atlantic Division that did not look as dreadful as Maryland were Florida State (lost to Miami) and Clemson (beat Middle Tennessee State). And neither made much of a statement. In fact, the team that separated itself in Week 1 from the sesspool of mediocrity was Virginia Tech -- and it lost 34-24 to Alabama.

The question I struggle with is this: even if the Terps win an ACC title this year, should I get excited about it? Do I have enough self-respect to realize that it was a mediocre playing field and a flawed system that guided them to that elite tier? Or do I get caught up in all the hype and wear my Fear the Turtle t-shirt for the entire week leading up to the game? A game, btw, which will probably pit them against UC or Pitt from the Big East. What a joke.

Kicker by committee?

Barbour and Ferrera are in a "dead heat", according to Post